Court Documents Suggest HYBE Used “Advance Purchasing” to Inflate K-Pop Album Sales as Min Hee-jin Offers $18M Settlement

Newly disclosed court documents from the ongoing legal dispute between HYBE Labels and former ADOR CEO Min Hee Jin references to the practice of “advance purchasing” physical albums — a method long rumored within the K-Pop industry to boost reported sales figures.

According to the documents, internal communications from August 4, 2023, discussed potential restructuring within HYBE’s Japan branch. One message indicated concern that certain organizational changes would make it “no longer possible to advance purchase inventory stocks,” suggesting that the company had relied on this strategy previously. The same message noted that without advance purchasing, remaining inventory would have to be resolved using the label’s own funds.

an excerpt from the court document states:

“If BX is placed in direct charge: D’s profit would be the largest, and BX would be the responsible party.
If BX and BY are integrated: the label’s profit would increase, but it would become impossible to push out (dump) excess inventory, and the party bearing the marketing & promotion burden would also be the label.”
(Exhibit 348)

“불량 밀어내기 불가” literally means “unable to push out defective/unsold goods,” commonly interpreted in this context as being unable to offload or dispose of excess inventory.

Exhibit 348

Additional records outlined large volumes of album stock flagged for return. Several product lines reportedly began with initial inventories ranging from 150,000 to 500,000 units, with tens or even hundreds of thousands marked for return or disposal. In one case, up to 150,000 copies from a 500,000-unit batch were listed as requiring return, while other entries showed ongoing returns of 70,000 to 200,000 units.

Meanwhile, the broader legal battle continues. On February 25 (KST), Min Hee Jin reportedly proposed ending the dispute by waiving her shareholder contract put options — valued at approximately 25.6 billion KRW (about $18 million USD) — in an effort to allow HYBE to focus on restructuring and managing NewJeans.

As proceedings move forward, further disclosures could shed more light on both the internal practices of major entertainment companies and the high-stakes conflict between one of K-Pop’s largest conglomerates and one of its most prominent creative executives.

Min Hee-jin, former ADOR CEO, has proposed a sweeping settlement to HYBE: she will give up a KRW 25.6 billion (≈ $17.9M USD) court-awarded payout if the company immediately drops all ongoing civil and criminal lawsuits involving her, NewJeans members, former employees, partner companies, and even fans.

Speaking at a February 25 press conference in Seoul, Min described the money as “a fortune,” but said protecting the artists — particularly NewJeans — is more important than financial compensation.

Her proposal follows a recent Seoul Central District Court ruling ordering HYBE to honor her put option tied to her former ADOR stake, while dismissing HYBE’s claims validating her contract termination.

Min emphasized that ending the legal battles would prevent “baseless noise” from continuing to affect the artists, their families, and fandom. The proposal reportedly also seeks to resolve related disputes involving ADOR, production partners, and individual members’ families.

HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk

Addressing HYBE Chairman Bang Si-hyuk directly, Min urged a shift away from litigation: “Let us meet in the realm of creation, not in the courtroom.”

She also confirmed she is moving forward under her new company, ooak Records, where she plans to debut a boy group — her first major project since leaving ADOR.

Min concluded by saying she hopes this will mark the end of the prolonged conflict and that there will be “no more wasteful press conferences” going forward.